Millions of Roofs in China Waiting to Be Greened By Roof China Committee

Date：2016-12-22 Source：Guangzhou Author：Sarah Views：721594

Core Tip：Having been long plagued by urban waterlogging, high PM 2.5 levels, deteriorating air quality, massive increase in carbo

Having been long plagued by urban waterlogging, high PM 2.5 levels, deteriorating air quality, massive increase in carbon emission, etc, China now bets on sponge cities to address its environmental problems brought by urbanization. Many roofing professionals are thrilled by this governmental decision because the construction of sponge cities is predicted to spur enormous demand for green roofs.

Green Roofs Catching the Eye of Guangdong Government
However, long before the implementation of sponge city policy, Guangdong has taken a leading role in green roofing. As early as 1997, Guangzhou has released an urban greening regulation stipulating the construction of green roofs on suitable large-scale public buildings, which is also the first time green roofs are required by law in China. After entering the 21th century, Guangdong keeps strengthening the development of green roofs. For example, Shenzhen is giving out subsidies to organizations, enterprises and individuals for green roofing and is determined to annually increase the area of green roof by 200,000㎡from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, the Department of Education of Guangdong Province has decided to promote green roofs among local schools. So far, several pilot projects have been carried out in Guangzhou.

Sponge City Policy to Accelerate the Development of Green Roofs
It is believed that sponge city policy will give a strong boost to the green roof industries across China. In 2015, Mr. Lu Kehua, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, revealed that 86.5 billion RMB would be invested into the construction of 16 pilot sponge cities by 2018. Mr. Zhu Dongqing, Chairman of China National Building Waterproof Association, observed that green roofing would be one of the key elements of sponge cities.

Lack of Technology and Talents Hindering the Development of Green Roofs

Due to the lack of advanced technology and professionals, in spite of so many favorable policies, the promotion of green roofs is still progressing sluggishly. For instance, the penetration rate of green roofs in Shenzhen is less than 2%, not to mention other major cities in China. It is reported that without advanced technology to cut down construction cost, nowadays green roofs are rarely adopted by residences but usually by hospitals, factories, schools, etc. However, since larger area of greening can lift the value of a high-end neighborhood, many real estate developers now begin to include green roofing in their projects. What’s more, many roof enterprises have complained that it is very difficult to find a experienced or qualified green roof construction worker in China’s talent market, which is another major obstacle to China’s green roof industry.

China’s Green Roof Industry Calling For Oversea Assistance
It can be foreseen that green roof systems will have enormous market space soon in China. If you have advanced green roofing technology or products, please don’t hesitate to showcase them in the 7th China (Guangzhou) International Roof, Facade & Waterproofing Exhibition (Roof China 2017), one of the most influential exhibitions of roofing in China.

For more information about our show or China’s roofing and waterproofing industry, please refer to our website or twitter, through which you can also register as our exhibitor or visitor.